Fabrication of single-grain GdBa2Cu3O7−x bulk superconductors with a new kind of liquid source by the top seeded infiltration and growth technique

Abstract

Compared to the conventional melt growth (MG) method, the top seeded infiltration and growth (TSIG) process is an effective way for preparing bulk REBa2Cu3O7−x (RE-123) with finely dispersed RE2BaCuO5 (RE-211) particles. However, it is more complicated and time-consuming, because three kinds of precursor powders, namely, RE-211, RE-123 and BaCuO2, have to be prepared for the conventional TSIG process. In this paper, a new liquid source (NLS) composed of RE-211 and Ba3Cu5O8, was proposed for simplifying the TSIG process, which is different from the regular liquid source (RLS) composed of RE-123 and Ba3Cu5O8. In this modified TSIG technique, we need to prepare only RE-211 and BaCuO2 powders. Single-grain GdBa2Cu3O7−x (GdBCO) bulk superconductors have been fabricated using the RLS and NLS separately. The morphology, microstructure and levitation force of the bulk GdBCO have also been investigated. The results indicate that the NLS can be used to simplify the process flow and improve the efficiency on the fabrication of single-grain GdBCO superconductors.